Category: C7 Corvettes

C7 Update: Is This the Upcoming C7 or a Camaro Fastback?

Published on by Scott

Dateline: 9.28.12

If this is the C7 Corvette, is it revving you up, or stalling you out?

Be sure to take our informal survey at the end of this post.

What kind of car does this look like to you? The New C7 Corvette, or a possible next gen Camaro fastback?

We’re now about 3-1/2 months from FINALLY knowing what the next generation C7 Corvette will look like and what kinds of mechanical improvements Chevrolet has in store. I have no doubt that the new C7 will run like a bear, but don’t expect anything revolutionary, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as the C6 platform is already pretty stout. I’m hoping that the base C7 uses the all-aluminum chassis design of the C6 Z06.

What’s got a lot of Corvette fans holding their breath is the car’s styling. In November ‘11 Jalopnik.com set the Corvette world on fire with their computer generated illustrations that were NOT well received by the Corvette community. GM cried “FOUL! That’s NOT the Corvette!” and Jalopnik said, “Yes, it is, STUFF IT!” Even before the Jalopnik flap there was a lot of jib-jab from GM people that the the next Vette would be a “world car” and designed for a “younger generation.” We also heard that the new Corvette would not be “your grandfather’s Vette.” (OUCH!)

What it comes down to is this. GM will do what it wants to do and we can love it or leave it. It’s no secret that Corvette sales have been dismal the last few years, but it’s not because the car is dismal! Quite the contrary. The Corvette product planners have done a spectacular job of availing to customers a truly “boutique” Corvette. Continue reading “C7 Update: Is This the Upcoming C7 or a Camaro Fastback?” →

Y’all In A Heap Of TROUBLE, Boy!

Published on by Scott

Dateline: 7.11.12

Subtitle: Omega Tool Corp Does Damage Control, ON US!

I was about to tell you all about a really awesome piece of Corvette racing history that’s going on the auction block, when I received an interesting email from the law firm of Schafer and Warner, PLL demanding that we remove the wrongfully and illegally posted image of a screen shot from a bootlegged video that was posted online that sure looks like the nose of the C7 Corvette. I discovered the images from my Google Alerts, which is setup to inform me of Corvette related stories in the news. The only image in the post showed the front bumper cover of what was speculated to be the nose of the C7 Corvette. The image was linked back to the source of the story, as per my Google Alert, and we included a text link to the source.

In followup emails from Google Alerts on Monday, Tuesday, and early Wednesday, it was obvious that the Corvette hungry community was all over this story like flies on stink. So I’m sure the legal eagles have been working hard to scour the net, racking up copious hours of billing time.

Well, I got on it right away, YES, SIR! Least we be the cause of any damages the the Omega Tool Corp might suffer as a result of their own problem. No, the only “suffering” they’ll incur is the butt chewing they probably already received from their big boss, plus the bill they’ll be getting from their attorneys for fix their screw up. It’s funny, because when I first read the story, I said out loud, “D’OGH! Someone’s in a HEAP OF TROUBLE!” The picture that came to my mind’s eye was that of sheriff Buford T. Justice, the cartoony character wonderfully played by Jackie Gleason in the “Smokey and the Bandit” movies. (next I’ll get a letter about the Gleason image) If you were able to see the illegal images in question, you might have wondered, “Is this REALLY the nose of the C7?” Now you know for sure, IT IS THE C7! Otherwise there wouldn’t be this Continue reading “Y’all In A Heap Of TROUBLE, Boy!” →

Vette Polls: C7 Corvette Update: Is this IT???

Published on by Scott18 Comments

Dateline: 3.4.12

Car and Driver Splashes the C7 Corvette – A PERFECT swan dive or a belly flop?

Cast your vote at the end of this post.

Don’t you just love a nice surprise in your mailbox? You know, a nice fat IRS tax refund, a Publishers Clearance Warehouse winner notification, or a letter from an old flame. (okay, maybe not that last one) The April 2012 issue of Car and Driver arrived in my mailbox today and I was greeted with what appears to be the real car that the November 2011 Jalopnik illustrations were based upon. It’s SO hard to tell computer rendered cars these days. “Usually” computer images are a little too flashy and that’s the telltale sign. A year, or less, from now, we’ll know for sure how spot on Jalopnik and Car and Driver are.

But for now, it’s deal with what’s in front of us. Sometimes, cars look better in person. But the C7 is looking more like a C6.75. I know that Corvettes tend to be evolutionary in their design, but honestly, there’d better be some stunning things going on under all the pretty fiberglass and carbon fiber.

The front view of the car is interesting, but two design elements bother me. The front grille opening looks awfully close to that of the 1993 – 2002 Camaro with its Billy Bass mouth. Going by the Jalopnik renderings, the hood vents and vents on the tops of the rear fenders indicate that this is the 2015 ZR1 configuration. But the vents on the hood look like those on the new ZL1 Camaro. Since when does the Corvette FOLLOW the Camaro? (when Camaros outsell Corvettes 6-to-1?) I suppose we’ll get used to it. But we’re not supposed to “get used to it,” we’re supposed to LUST for it!

The car looks as if there were different “design teams.” This view clearly shows the work of the Back End Team. The design elements and shapes just don’t “go with” the rest of the car. From the side, we see compound curves and swoopy lines. But the rear view shows flat sides. This doesn’t even LOOK like a “Corvette” from the back.

And now to the back end. (sigh) PLEASE!!! Don’t let this be the real back end of the C7 Corvette, PLEASE. If so, we’ll never hear the end of the “Cormaro” of the “Camvette.” Continue reading “Vette Polls: C7 Corvette Update: Is this IT???” →

Jalopnik Says This is the C7 2014 Corvette

Published on by Scott

 

Dateline: 11.14.11
Love it or hate it? Cast your vote at the bottom of this post!

With less than two years to go, Jalopnik.com says this is the C7 Corvette. Believe it… or NOT!

To see the front, rear, and side-view renderings, just click the above image.

Oh course, we won’t know for sure until Chevrolet wants us to know for sure. But Jalopnik.com is claiming that THIS is the the new C7 Corvette, as photographed by someone that isn’t supposed to be photographing things inside the design center. If this isn’t a carefully contrived leak created to stoke the Corvette loyal and faithful, then someone will either NEVER be allowed inside again or someone will be fired!

At the earliest, we’re looking at a “possible” Spring release of the ‘14 C7 Corvette, which puts that 18 months or so out ahead of us now. Will Chevrolet just show us the C7 in Spring ‘13 as the ‘14 C7 Corvette, or will they be taking orders for the ‘14 C7 Corvette? We don’t know. Will the C7 be shown at the Summer press preview so that as the magazines can splash the C7 Corvette at the news stands in early September, along with the rest of the new ‘14 cars? We don’t know.

(Love it or hate it? Cast your vote at the bottom of this post!)

What is certain is this. Because of the Internet and the blogosphere, if the C7 is released in the Spring or shown to the press as part of the Summer “14 preview, as soon as the car is “officially” shown, it will be all over the net in a matter of nanoseconds!  Continue reading “Jalopnik Says This is the C7 2014 Corvette” →

Vette Videos – Vette Polls: C6 ZR1 Corvette vs All-Wheel-Drive Lamborghini LP670-4 SV

Published on by Scott

Dateline: 10.6.11
Another look at AWD, does it really matter? 

To visit the official ZR1 website, click the above image.

(Cast your vote at the bottom of this post.)

The other day I was sharing with you the November 2011 Road & track cover story about the 2-second club – three world-class sports cars capable of 0-to-60 in LESS than 3-seconds. Club members include the Nissan GT-R Premium, the Porsche 911 Turbo S, and the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport. All three cars had AWD and except for the nuts-o 1,183-HP Bugatti, the other two members have LESS horsepower that the ZR1. Plus, the ZR1 Corvette weighs 225-pounds LESS than the Porsche. So, the Corvette with a 106-horsepower advantage isn’t in the club, what’s up with that? “All-wheel-drive” boys and girls.

 

Mamma mia! That's'a SPICY meatball! And she's nice too!

Well don’t despair Corvette fans, not all AWD supercars are in the 2-second club. The Lamborghini Murcielago LP670-4 SV could only to the 0-to-60 scoot in 3.0-seconds, so no club membership card for the Lambo either. The June ‘09 Car & Driver Lambo test car was packing 661-HP, 487 LB/FT of torque, weighed 3,850-pounds, and has a top speed of 209 to 213-mph. All that for only $457,500 – enough to buy three ZR1s and a Z06! But we won’t beat them up over a few hundred grand.

Autocar Magazine created the below video comparison between the top gun Corvette and Lamborghini cars. The Lambo has the horsepower edge plus AWD and the ZR1 has the weight advantage. So who wins on a road course? (The video is on the next page –>>) Continue reading “Vette Videos – Vette Polls: C6 ZR1 Corvette vs All-Wheel-Drive Lamborghini LP670-4 SV” →

FINALLY! Some C7 News – C7 Corvette to Get a 7-Speed Gearbox!

Published on by Scott

Dateline: 9.24.11
After a LONG dry spell, some C7 news that’s really “news.”

We haven’t had much to say about the C7 Corvette because there hasn’t been much to say about the new C7 Corvette. Oh, there have been a few burps of “news” but it was more like a rehash or rehashed material, spiced up with lots of wild speculation. Eventually, we’ll all know everything there is to know about the C7. But thanks to the immediacy of the internet, there’s been a feeding frenzy over the C7 question for at least the last two years! But finally, there’s something tangible to talk about.

This isn’t a huge piece of juicy red meat, but it’s better than nothing. According to InsideLine.com the 2014 C7 Corvette will receive a 7-speed transmission! Calm down, calm down, this has not been “officially” confirmed by Chevrolet, yet.

While a 7-speed tranny won’t do much for “performance” (in the terms WE like to think of) the additional top gear would allow Continue reading “FINALLY! Some C7 News – C7 Corvette to Get a 7-Speed Gearbox!” →

Say, what’s the easiest way to keep up with what’s happening at CorvetteReport.com?

Published on by Scott

Dateline: 8.31.11
We’ve made it “easy as pie” for ya!

Ever since we dropped a ZR1 LS9 engine into our blog site, we’ve been posting at least once a day, sometimes more. At first, I thought, “How in the world am I going to find interesting Corvette material to post every day?” HA! Silly me! With nearly 60 years of Corvettes to talk about, I’ve concluded that I could do this for another 100 years and not run out of material to cover! The topic is so broad and deep, there’s ALWAYS something fun and interesting to talk and write about in the world of Corvettes!

Enter your email address:

So, to make it fall-off-a-log easy for you to keep up with us, we’ve created the above handy-dandy, sign up form. It’s not a “newsletter,” just a brief email announcement letting you know that there’s a new post at CorvetteReport.com. The email you will receive will look like this… Continue reading “Say, what’s the easiest way to keep up with what’s happening at CorvetteReport.com?” →

A Turbocharged Blast From the Past – the 1979 Experimental “Turbo Corvette”

Published on by Scott

Dateline: 8.22.11
Before the Callaway Twin Turbo arrived, Corvette engineers were taking a shot at turbocharging a 1979 Corvette

 

To see the much larger image from the September/October issue of VETTE Magazine, click the image.

The C7 Corvette rumor mill has been quiet the last month of so. Oh, a few weeks ago there was a burp about a possible C7 chassis mule hidden under a late model Corvette Coupe. (not much in that report) Then towards the end of May ‘11 CorvetteBlogger.com posted a report from TheDetroitBureau.com that the C7 would be powered by a turbocharged 3.0-liter V8. Of course, no one really knows except for the Chevrolet and Corvette engineers that are working on the project. But my take is that the little turbo engine report is pure speculation. There have always been those that have wanted the Corvette to be a small European-like sports car. I say, if that’s what you want, buy a Lotus.

Will Chevrolet back down from the 638-horsepower high-water-mark of the current LS9 engine? Let’s hope not. The computer emission controls on the latest LS engines seem to be more than capable of adjusting for horsepower, as we’ve seen from the work of Howard Tanner, the new “Mr. Motion” that’s building the official authorized, 800-horsepower  Baldwin Motion Phase III Camaros. (Yes, I have it on excellent authority that a Phase III C6 Corvette is in the works.) What might pull the plug on a mega-horsepower C7 Corvette power plant is the CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency) standards. But since Corvettes are a tiny percentage of the average of all GM cars, they might be able to slip in a horsepower beast into the C7 to function as their latest, greatest halo car. It’s ALL up in the air and delicious fodder for bench racing.

To see the much larger version and read the story from the September/October issue of VETTE Magazine, click the above image

But the turbocharged issue is interesting and got me to remembering an earlier turbo Corvette that Chevrolet was tinkering with. Back in 1979 the above show car Corvette was powered by a 195-HP L48 engine with an AIResearch tubrocharger that bumped the power up to around 280 – 290-HP. Why they didn’t use the more stout L-82 engine, only the Corvette engineers know. Ask Dave McLellan if you get the chance. But the extra 90-to-100-horsepower didn’t WOW anyone in the already husky ‘79 Corvette. But the car sure looked cool! The silver Coupe wore production front and rear spoliers, Continue reading “A Turbocharged Blast From the Past – the 1979 Experimental “Turbo Corvette”” →

Vette Videos: Corvette Stingray Comcept Car at the Car Shows!

Published on by Scott

Dateline: 8.9.11
Until Chevrolet wants us to know what the C7 looks like, this is the best we can do…

We’ve covered the upcoming C7 Corvette from every angle here at Corvette Report. To access all of our C7-related posts, look at the top of the page for the “Search Gens” drop down in the red bar to catch all of our posts. Just today we launched a new section for your enjoyment titled, “Vette Videos” We have videos of all seven generation Corvettes, plus a section of Corvette racers. Look in the above red bar for the drop down menu. So to kick off the C7 category, we’re dishing up a few videos taken at car shows of the Corvette Stingray Concept / Transformers car.


More videos below… Continue reading “Vette Videos: Corvette Stingray Comcept Car at the Car Shows!” →

Vette Videos: A Case For an All-Wheel-Drive C7 Corvette

Published on by Scott

Dateline: 7.1.2011
Should AWD be Part of the C7 Corvette?

Motor Trend TV recently presented a three-way drag race between a 2012 Nissan GT-R, a 2011 Ford Shelby GT500, and a 2011 Z06 Corvette. These are three VERY different cars.

The 2011 Z06 Corvette has a 7-liter engine with , 505-HP, 470 FT/LB of torque, has rear-wheel-drive, cost $75,255 ($98,010 as tested with almost every option), and weighs 3,253-LBS.

The 2012 Nissan GT-R has a 3.8-Liter engine with 530-HP, 448-FT/LBS of torque, has all-wheel drive, , cost $90,950, and weighs 3,898-LBS.

The Shelby GT500 packs a 5.4-liter supercharged 550-HP, 510 FT-LB torque engine, has rear-wheel-drive, costs $49,495 ($55,330, as tested), and weighs 3,801-LBS.

Here’s the Motor Trend video report…

 

 

In the video, all three cars run at once on a 1/4-mile drag strip. No ET figures were given, but the Nissan and Z06 clearly and totally SMOKED the Shelby. Continue reading “Vette Videos: A Case For an All-Wheel-Drive C7 Corvette” →

The Stalled Out C7 Corvette Rumor Mill

Published on by Scott

Starving for some C7 Corvette RED MEAT?

C7 Corvette concept art by Tamas Jakus

One of the fun parts about running a modern blog is that you can see the page view statistics for every post. In the 46 years that I’ve been following Corvettes, I have NEVER seen so much attention and excitement over an upcoming Corvette generation. My take on this is that it is mainly being driven by the proliferation of internet blogs and the speed we are able to post new information. Every time we post something about the C7, the hits take off.

Not that there’s anything inherently wrong or bad with the C6 Corvette. Quite to the contrary. The C6 Corvette has been developed into a top notch GT (Grand Touring) machine with more horsepower every dreamed of back in the ‘60s and ‘70s, an adjustable-from-the-driver’s-seat electronic suspension for track-level performance or highway cruising, launch-control, active braking, lush creature comfort, plenty of factory options to personalize your Vette, and enough honest storage space weekend trips for two!

Could you ask for more? SURE! And I’ll bet that’s exactly what Chevrolet has in store for us.

In an interview with Corvette chief designer Tom Peters in April 2011, he specifically said, “The Corvette Stingray Concept car is NOT the C7.”

The last scrap of red meat Chevrolet tossed to hungry Corvette fans was last May when it was announced that the C7 Corvette would likely be a 2014 model, with a possible release in Spring of ‘13. WOW! That’s less than a year away! What that tells me is that Continue reading “The Stalled Out C7 Corvette Rumor Mill” →

Illustrated Corvette Series No. 170 – Corvette Stingray Concept

Published on by Scott

C7 Sneak-Peek, Or Just the Latest Corvette Concept Car?

Be sure to take part in our poll.

Although Corvette chief designer Tom Peters says that the Corvette Stingray Concept car is NOT the C7, would you like it to be?

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Intro: Not since the Mako Shark II hit the nation’s car shows has a concept car caused as much excitement within the Corvette community as the Corvette Stingray Concept. It’s been two years since the low-slung, sexy silver Stingray hit the automotive press and fans right between the eyes. And thanks to fans with excellent Photoshop skills, there has been a steady stream of images that look, well, like real cars! What the panting public has been short on are details about the car – what’s it made of, what about that unusual front suspension, and what’s really under the car’s engine covers that say, “Hybrid Stingray”? Chevrolet was long on generalities and short on red meat details. When I decided to cover the new concept car in my VETTE Magazine column, I knew I would need some inside help. Thanks to VETTE’s senior associate editor Christopher Phillip, I had an interesting series of conversations with a few GM insiders. After reassuring the gatekeepers that I was NOT trolling for C7 details, I was able to get a phone audience with Corvette chief designer, Tom Peters to discuss what they were thinking when designing the concept car. So, special thanks to David North, David Caldwell, Nichole Carrier, and Tom Peters for their assistance with the story. – Scott

Like blood in a pool of sharks, there’s nearly a fever pitch of anticipation and speculation over the upcoming C7 Corvette. If you Google search the term “C7 Corvette” you’ll get nearly 600,000 results. Whenever I post a C7-related story at CorvetteReport.com, the page hits take a spike. C7 fever began in mid-’07 with reports of a possible mid-engine C7. From there, nearly every possible “what if” concept was pinned on the the C7. Unlike previous “future Corvette” times, computer-generated images only added to the confusion because some looked like real prototype cars! Continue reading “Illustrated Corvette Series No. 170 – Corvette Stingray Concept” →